Page 140 of Face Off With Fate

Protecting me.

I pressed the heel of my hand against my sternum like I could physically push back against the pressure building there. All the air in my lungs turned to concrete in my chest.

“And you let her go.” My voice came out rougher than I intended.

Ariella didn’t flinch. Didn’t look away. But something moved across her face—something that wasn’t quite guilt and wasn’t quite grief.

“She’s my cousin.” Her voice was steady, but the weight behind it wasn’t. “I know her, know the way she loves. Gives her everything.” She paused. “And she did that for you. Nothing I could have said would’ve stopped her act of love for you. For Goldie. Not when so much was on the line.”

I hadn’t braced for those words. For that blow. My chest ached with a mix of anger and gratitude. I was unaware that so many emotions could coexist in one space.

“That doesn’t mean she was right to do this alone,” I choked out, bracing on the wall.

“No.” Ariella’s mouth pressed into a flat line. “It doesn’t. But it means I understood it. We love hard in this family, Monroe. Sometimes that looks like getting on a plane because you think you’re doing the right thing.” Something flickered in her expression. “Doesn’t make it hurt any less to watch...or do.”

The last part was barely above a whisper.

I stood there with the wreckage of the last hour, trying to remember how to breathe through it.

“I’m going after her, Ari. I’m not letting her get on that plane thinking she has to sacrifice herself for me. That’s not—” I shook my head. “That’s not what I want from her. That’s not what this is.”

“Thank god.” Ariella reached for her bag, pulling out her phone. “She’s got location sharing on with me.”

I was already moving.

“Monroe.” Ariella stared at the screen for a long moment before holding it out to me.

Something in my chest shifted, and I rubbed my hand down my face, a tiny amount of tension gone seeing that dot.

“What is it with you two and threatening to jump on airplanes to leave the men who love you?”

Ariella let out a snort.

“Listen,” she said. “It makes for a great story to tell.”

She was already walking toward the door, and I was two steps behind her, Graciella’s location still glowing in my hand.

FORTY-SEVEN

GRACIELLA

“LET ME SHOW YOU HOW MUCH YOU DESERVE TO BE LOVED.”

My whole chest felt like someone had scooped out everything inside and left it empty. Numb.

Itzel hadn’t said much since we left. Both hands were on the wheel, eyes on the road, the radio turned down. All I heard was the hum of the highway and the low thrum of tires eating up asphalt.

But I could feel the burn of her gaze on me.

“I’m fine,” I said, before she could ask.

“You keep saying that b⁠—”

“It’s better this way,” I bit out, hating the wobble in my voice.

“For who?”

“For him. For Goldie. For…” I swallowed. “For everyone.”